for the record, i'm still a student too, but not so after next week.. hahaha..

anyway, u can choose to start with the cheaper narrow aperture lenses 1st, and upgrade slowly instead of grabbing the best.. u'll need to hone your skills before u became owners of those 1st class equipment.. equipments without skills would produce crap..

This post has been edited by kevin613: Dec 11 2007, 07:15 PM

u need a tele-converter then, not a macro filter..
a macro filter will magnify things, but at the same time, limit your focusing range to objects that are very close.. u will not be able to focus on objects that are far from u. but bear in mind that the use of teleconverter means u'll lose lights.. another alternative for macro is to use extension tubes, it'll allow your lens to focus at a closer distant, thus effectively increasing the magnification ratio.

they works the same, but hoya do label them differently, there's hoya macro filter, and there's also hoya close up filters..

do u mean the strobe mode?

i wanna join photographing trips, i wanna learn from the pros too..

not 100% true..
the memory effect only affects Nickel based cell, and doesnt happen on Lithium based cell..
the AA battery u use in your flash is usually Ni-Mh or Ni-CD, and the battery u use for your camera body is usually Li-Ion.
for Li-Ion, it's best to always keep it at full, while for Ni based, it's best to let it run thru the full charging and discharging cycle.
that's what i remember, correct me if i'm wrong..

if it's just a black dot, then it's probably just dust.. it wont affect the photo quality, unless u're shooting with very narrow aperture.
fungus will look like spider web which will spread out..

i think the 50mm f1.8 II is quite prone to dust, mine became very dusty after a few months..

This post has been edited by kevin613: Dec 15 2007, 03:28 PM